After a week of enjoying the urban charms of Seville, a two-hour southward bus ride takes me to Arcos de la Frontera, the pearl of famous White Villages, for a taste of timeless Spanish culture. The old village clings to the very top of a narrow limestone ridge, a tangled maze of cobblestone streets lined with whitewashed medieval houses and ancient churches. From my room atop one of these historic homes, the view plunges abruptly down to the fertile valley of the Guadalate River and the rolling plain beyond. The whole place is a photographer’s paradise.

Ronda

The Rio Guadalvin runs through the center of Ronda.

Another three-hour bus ride west, and I am in Ronda. I am a fan of Spanish busses. Comfortable, punctual and inexpensive, they are a great way to get from one small town to the next. Ronda is an eagle’s nest of a town famous for dramatic views and the 150 meter (500 foot) deep El Tajo gorge of the Rio Guadalvin that runs through its center. Celts, Phoenicians, Romans and Moors habited the area in turn before it was conquered by the Catholic Kings. Most left interesting marks of their presence.

Ronda and the local Romero family played a major role in the development of Spanish bullfighting as it is known today. While definitely not a supporter of the sport myself, I enjoy visiting the spectacular eighteen century Plaza de Toros. The vast bullring, 66 meter (217 foot) in diameter is surrounded by a stone passage and two layers of raised covered seating. The roof circular roof if supported by 136 pillars that hold 68 arches. The complex also houses a small museum dedicated to the sport.

Cordoba

The Alcazar offers a fine view of La Mezquita and the Cordoba skyline.

The last stop of this journey is Cordoba where I can’t get enough of La Mezquita, the Great Mosque turned cathedral in the center of the historic town, considered one the most significant monuments of Moorish and Renaissance architecture. In its original mosque incarnation, it was the hub of Islamic community life in Al-Andalus for three centuries, serving as a teaching center as well as courthouse and place of worship. The building is constructed with 865 soaring columns of granite, marble, jasper and onyx, made from pieces of the Roman temple that previously occupied the site and other repurposed nearby Roman monuments. The sanctuary also has elaborately carved and gilded prayer alcoves. After Ferdinand III conquered Cordoba in 1236, the mosque was turned into a catholic church. A number of chapels were inserted over time within the expansive structure, most notably the colossal Renaissance cathedral nave.

Cordoba’s Alcazar Gardens.

Near the Mezquita is the old Jewish Ghetto, home to the Sephardic House and the Synagogue. Then at the southwestern edge of the old town there is the Alcazar de Cordoba. The palace was the seat of the independent Caliphate of Cordoba. Over time it expanded to become a large compound with baths, gardens and one of the largest libraries of the era. It was reconstructed and further expanded by the Christian Kings following the 1236 conquest.

So rich is the history of Andalusia and its architectural legacy that I feel this first visit has barely scratched the surface. I am already thinking of a return visit. Granada is next.

A Few Souvenirs

Location, location, location!

Cordoba, spain

As is the case with many of the great historic cities of the Mediterranean basin, the origins of Seville are shrouded in legends. Hercules himself is said to have taken a break from his better-publicized great deeds to create the original settlement of what is now the capital of Andalusia, Spain’s southern-most region.

A complicated history

The Moors’ Torre del Oror on the Guadalquivir River.

In the millennia that followed, others came to lend a hand in shaping the city as we know it today. It became Hispalis to the Romans after they evicted the Carthaginians. Rome undertook its customary construction program, a few remains of which endure to this day including the twin columns that dominate the vast La Alameda de Hércules Square on the north side of the city’s historic center. Then came the Vandals and the Visigoths successively, who left nothing but their usual devastation before being abruptly tossed out by the Moors in 711. This ushered in the Islamic Empire of Al-Andalus that was to endure for half a millennium, leaving a stunning architectural and artistic imprint throughout the region.

The Spanish Baroque Archbishop’s Palace.

Then in 1248, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile conquered the area. The Moors’ Palace (the Alcazar) became the Castilian Royal residence still used today as the local residence of the royal family and mosques morphed into churches. Enter Christopher Columbus. Upon his return from the New World in 1493, Seville managed to co-opt the monopoly on trans-oceanic trade for its port on the Guadalquivir River. Prosperity ensued and the city became a major economic and cultural center of the Baroque era. To this day it is a unique hybrid of Islamic and European architecture and traditions, and a fascinating place to start my discovery of Andalusia.

A tale of two cultures

The Triana Bridge over the Guadalquivir.

Since my first random wanderings lead me to the bank of the Guadalquivir, I board a ship for hour-long dusk cruise. In addition to offering a beautiful panorama of both sides of the city, highlights include the Torre del Oro, a polygonal medieval watchtower originally built by the Moors as parts of the city ramparts to control river access. While the golden tile facing that gave it its name have long vanished, it still a gleams in the early evening light. Further down river the Isabel II (or Triana ) Bridge, a superb example of nineteenth century iron architecture, leads to the historic working class Triana neighborhood, famous to this day for its ceramics and flamenco music.

The Santa Maria del la Sede cathedral is the largest gothic cathedral in the world.

During the next few days, I explore the area around the Cathedral (Santa Maria del la Sede), the largest gothic cathedral in the world. Its fifteenth century builders used some columns and other elements from the mosque that previously stood on the grounds, including the Giralda. Once a minaret, the 300-foot bell tower, now Seville’s iconic symbol, offers a unique view of the city. Inside the cathedral, a grand mausoleum is said to holds the remains of Christopher Columbus.

Neptune Fountain in the gardens of the Alcazar.

I wander in the courtyards of the Alcazar with their lacy stone and woodworks and their intricate Islamic geometric tile works. The gardens are filled with orange trees and the trickle of countless fountains. And I lose myself in the labyrinth of medieval streets of Barrio Santa Cruz, the Jewish ghetto until the Jews were driven from Spain by the 1492 edict of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

The interior patio of the Lebrija Palace is paved with Romain mosaics.

The Palacio de Lebrija is an ideal refuge for a rainy day. This little known museum is a typical Sevilliano family palace built around cloistered interior patios, restyled in the nineteenth century from original sixteenth century buildings by the Condesa de Lebrija. The Countess was an avid collector and the museum houses her eclectic private collection ranging from Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Persian ceramics to Louis XIV furniture and works by Van Dyck and artists of the Murillo school.

A Few Souvenirs

Location, location, location!

Seville, spain

We are entering the final week of our itinerary around Bhutan. From Tashingang back to Mongar over Thrumshing La pass toward Jakar, we are retracing our steps on the only main road that runs the breadth of the country and will ultimately take us back to Paro. On the second day of this westward drive, we turn onto a side road that leads to the highest valley in the Bhumthang district and the village of Ura (altitude 3,200 meters or 10,170 feet), where we will be the overnight guests of a local family. The people in this remote rural community are mainly sheep and yak herders, and believed to be the descendants of Bhutan’s earliest inhabitants.

The valleys where time stands still – Part two

The home of our local hosts in Ura.

While our hostess prepares the evening meal, our guide Kezang encourages us to explore the village, partially to pre-empt any offer of help in the kitchen, I suspect. The ensuing walk is one of my most memorable moments of the entire trip. Time seems to have forgotten this cluster of ramshackle Himalayan farmhouses scattered along narrow cobblestone lanes and dominated by a modest temple. Under a crystalline blue sky the high altitude air is thin and crisp. A light breeze carries the sound of a nearby rushing stream and a faint smell of wood fires. We pass a few villagers, a woman bringing in her cows, a young boy carrying on his back a large bale of hay. Soon the pale sun drops beyond the mountain range and dusk instantly engulfs the village.

The remote village of Ura offers a glmpse of Hymalayan rural life.

Suddenly the air vibrates with the soaring baritone wail of Dungchens, the giant horns used in Buddhist ceremonies, punctuated by the deep beat of drums coming out of a nearby barn. Male voices join in. The sound stops abruptly, only to start again an instant later. We stand still, mesmerized by this unexpected gift of music from what we surmise to be a rehearsal, until a rumble of hooves gives us notice to get out of the way. Four long-haired yaks, squat and powerful, barrel by on their way to the river. I am awed by this fleeting experience of the essence of Bhutan.

Our Ura host family’s kitchen.

We share a traditional meal of red rice, dry yak meat stew and hot chilies in a cheese sauce with our host family, all of us sitting in a circle on a floor mat in the center of the kitchen, exchanging questions about each others’ world under the vacillating light of a small light bulb. Kezang translates. We are in the home of a local state official, one of the most spacious and best kept in the village. However creature comforts as we westerners understand them are still a relative concept. Other than the warmth from the woodstove in the kitchen, the house is unheated, and the temperature has dropped precipitously at nightfall. In my room, a glaze of ice is forming on the window panes. I gratefully burrow in the low temperature sleeping bag I have (needlessly until now) dragged around the country. Plumbing is symbolic here, with a common water closet consisting of a sink, a commode and a large drum of (ice cold) water with a scooper. All and all a unique opportunity to experience authentic Bhutanese village life.

We continue our exploration of the high valleys and rural life with a stop in Phobjkha Valley. The weather is clear and we get exceptional views of the Black Mountains range along the way, with several snow-covered peaks rising above 5,000 meters (16,000 feet). Phobjkha is a vast U-shaped glaciated valley known as the winter habitat for black-necked cranes. Unfortunately we are a couple of weeks early and the famous Himalayan migratory birds have yet to return from Tibet. Absent cranes notwithstanding, we enjoy sunny nature hikes in the valley, and visits at various times of day to the nearby Gangtey Gompa. This monastery, one of Bhutan’s oldest was recently the object of extensive renovations. The woodcarvings of the façade and the vivid murals inside are exceptionally beautiful.

Back to contemporary life

We go over Dochu La pass, once again cocooned in thick clouds. We are now inexorably on the road back to Thimphu. The capital of Bhutan is a mere 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of here, with Paro only one hour farther via the best stretch of blacktop road in the country.

Inner courtyard of the Gangtey Palace Hotel, once a royal residence in Paro.

In Paro, thanks to Karen’s determination, we stay in glorious splendor at the Gangtey Palace Hotel. The palace was built over a century ago for Dawa Penjor, uncle of the first king of Bhutan and governor of the Paro Valley. It was also for a time the residence of the king when he visited the city. In addition to its traditional décor and gorgeous antiques the palace offers a stunning view of Rinpung Dzong (or “fortress that sits on a heap of jewels”). More commonly known as Paro Dzong it is itself a jewel of Bhutanese architecture with its high inward-sloping walls rising high above the Paro River.

The Tiger’s Nest monastery overlooks the Paro Valley.

On our last day in Bhutan, we visit the Taktsang Palphug Monastery. Better known as the Tiger’s Nest, the temple complex was built in the late seventeenth century on the site of one of Guru Rinpoche’s meditation caves. This sacred site clings to a vertical rock face about 900 meters (3,000 ft) above the upper Paro valley. The eight century holly man is said to have been transported here on the back of a flying tiger. With no such conveyance at our disposal, the only option is to hike up, with the possible assistance of a sturdy Himalayan pony for the lower half of the trek. Jan takes off on foot. Karen and I opt to admire this iconic architectural wonder from afar.

Good to know

Tourism in Bhutan is subject to strict regulations that are managed by the National Tourism Council of Bhutan. All travel within the country must be planned and booked through a tour operator registered with the council. Travel guidelines as well as a complete list of registered tour operators and the yearly festival schedule are available on the council’s website: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan.

We selected Blue Poppy Tours and Treks http://www.bluepoppybhutan.com for their responsiveness in tailoring a tour to our personal interests and requirements.

I want to express my profound gratitude to my friends Karen and Jan Abadschieff who planned this amazing adventure in the Land of the Thunder Dragon down to its smallest detail and welcomed me to share it with them.

A Few Souvenirs

Location, location, location!

Paro, Bhutan

As the tiger flies (in Bhutanese lore, tigers do more than their fair share of flying. Why should crows have all the fun anyway?) the distance between Jakar, capital of the Bumthang district in central Bhutan and Mongar, gateway to the eastern part of the country, is approximately 57 kilometers (35 miles). For humans however, the only option is a 200 kilometer (125 mile), daylong roller-coaster road trip that includes a steep ascent to Bhutan’s highest pass, Thrumshing La (altitude 3,780 meters or 12,402 feet).

Driving into the clouds

Roadside shrine near mountaintop Thrumshing La Park.

Before entering the Thrumshing La National Park, we make a quick stop at a roadside teahouse. A small adjacent one-room temple is aglow with flickering butter lamps. Considering the road conditions, it seems a wise idea to make our own offering.

Thrumshing La is the highest pass in Bhutan.

As we near the pass, the stunning panorama of distant snowcapped mountains vanishes. By the time we reach the top, we are deep in shifting clouds that go from gloomy gray to gleaming white as they part to allow us glimpses at the bottomless valley below. Hundreds of prayer flags snap in the cutting wind.

Eastern Bhutan Panorama.

The landscape is breathtaking, the ride hair-raising. We leave the Thumshing La Park area to emerge into the upper Kuri Chu valley. The narrow road has been hacked into the side of a vertical rock face streaked with waterfalls that thunder straight down for hundreds of meters and sometimes spill onto the road. Then there is the occasional rockslide. We stand by and watch while our driver Tshering takes the van at crawl speed over whatever rock and dirt are obstructing the way. He once explained that he had grown up in a monastery. I hope he accumulated enough divine protection in his youth to see him through. He has. We get back into the van and continue on our way.

These bright trucks move all of Bhutan’s freight around the country,

Other than local busses, we mostly meet the ubiquitous huge, brightly painted trucks used to move every imaginable kind of freight across the country. Crossing path with them is always a tight squeeze, and guardrails are still a remote concept in these parts.

Panda Country

Local farmers sell their produce at an impromptu roadside market.

We wend down an endless succession of sharp turns. The vegetation becomes lush with giant bamboo and ferns. “This is panda country,” our guide Kezang volunteers, but the legendary bears are nowhere to be seen. The temperature warms noticeably as we continue our descent through cornfields, rice terraces and tropical fruit orchards. At an unusually wide curve in the road, local villagers have lined up to sell their products. We stop at this impromptu roadside market for a bag of juicy persimmons.

In the valley below local women harvest the rice .

We finally reach the valley floor (altitude 570 meters or 1,900 feet) and the Kuri Zampa bridge that takes us across a white-water river to start the hour-long, 25 kilometer ascent to Mongar (altitude 1675 meters or 5500 feet). This fast-growing, unlovely modern town is notable only for the medical facility built a couple of decades ago to serve the people of eastern Bhutan.

As far East as it gets

In Tashi Yangtse, we join the villagers at the Chorten Kora.

The next morning, we are on our way to Tashi Yangtse, as far East as one can travel and still be in Bhutan. Very few western Bhutanese and even fewer western visitors make it this far. There is no tourism infrastructure here, so we are welcomed for the next two nights in the home of a lovely elderly woman, where guest quarters have been arranged, complete with basic modern plumbing. This small rural town near the border of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is gathered around the large white-washed Chorten Kora, a serene sanctuary on the bank of the Kulong Chu river. At dusk, we join villagers and a handful of pilgrims in their daily perambulations around this revered site. The next day, we enjoy a hike in the countryside, a visit to the local monastery and a welcome rest before departing for nearby Tashigang in the morning.

Gom Kora temple is built around a sacred cave.

We stop on the way at the temple of Gom Kora, built in the seventeenth century in front of a rock where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated and left his body imprint. The temple is home to 30 monks and what are considered to be some of the most beautiful paintings in the country.

The eastern-most point on the main road, Tashigang is a bustling city. Area residents come to trade here, and there is a busy station where busses leave several times a day for Thimphu and Paro in the west, and for India only a few hours to the southeast.

Tomorrow we start our own long journey back to Western Bhutan.

Good to know

Tourism in Bhutan is subject to strict regulations that are managed by the National Tourism Council of Bhutan. All travel within the country must be planned and booked through a tour operator registered with the council. Travel guidelines as well as a complete list of registered tour operators and the yearly festival schedule are available on the council’s website: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan.

We selected Blue Poppy Tours and Treks http://www.bluepoppybhutan.com for their responsiveness in tailoring a tour to our personal interests and requirements.

A Few Souvenirs

Location, location, location!

Trumshing La National Park, Bhutan

Thrumshing La National Park, Bhutan

It’s only 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Wangdi to Trongsa, the geographical center of Bhutan, but the drive takes a solid five hours of hairpin turns up and down a narrow and improbably steep road. Two-third of the way to Trongsa, on a rare stretch of flat road, we make a short stop at the Chendebji Chorten. A chorten, sometimes also called stupa, is a dome-shaped monument topped by a sharp cone, used to house relics or commemorate significant events of Buddhism.

Myths and Chortens

The nineteenth century Chendebji Chorten is a replica of the Swayambhunath Chorten in Katmandu, Nepal.

Our guide Kezang explains in approximate English that this particular chorten was built in the nineteenth century, recenctly by Bhutanese standards, to cover the remains of an evil spirit that was overpowered on this spot. It is remarkable for its imposing size, and for being a reproduction of the Swayambhunath Chorten in Katmandu, Nepal. As Kezang has it, every milestone of Bhutanese Buddhism involves the subjugation of some seriously evil spirit by Guru Rinpoche (or Precious Guru, the patron saint of Vajrayana Buddhism that is practiced in Bhutan) or his disciples, sometimes with the cooperation of other helpful deities temporarily incarnated as flying tigers and such.

The Trongsa Dzong and Da Dzong watchtower overlook a deep gorge of the Mangde River.

Trongsa Dzong, the largest fortress in Bhutan, is built on a spur overlooking a deep gorge of the Mangde River. Its massive exterior walls hold a maze of vast courtyards surrounded by temples, administrative offices and living quarters for its 200 monks. Further up the mountain a watchtower, Da Dzong, rises from the treetops. The view goes on forever, from the sky-high mountain range to the bottom of the gorge, a striking reminder of the dzong’s original strategic purpose.

Demons begone

Musicans at the Bhutanese lingm flute as the Tamshingphala Festival.

The next afternoon finds us at the annual Tamshingphala Festival. In the courtyard of this small fifteenth century monastery, monks and a multigenerational crowd of area villagers are gathered around an open space where dancers in ornate robes twirl wildly to the sound of ancient horns and cymbals. Evil spirits and other ill-intended demons don’t stand a chance.

We are in the Bumthang district now, the spiritual heartland of Bhutan. The landscape is dotted with legendary monasteries, temples and palaces. We are staying in Jakar, the district capital where there are unmistakable signs of development. Our hotel actually has, in addition to passable plumbing, a frequently operational Wifi in the dining room. And the owner is married to a lovely Indian woman who does the cooking, which means a nice curry break from the usual locally grown red rice and chilies (nb. chilies seem to be a food group in Bhutan).

The sacred cave of Guru Rinpoche

The Kurje Lhakhang monatery is build about a sacred cave.

Guru Rinpoche. In 747 A.D. the Buddhist saint came from India (where he was known as Padmasambhava) to Bumthang at the invitation of the local king who needed his soul retrieved from, you guessed it, a malevolent deity who had cursed him with a terrible illness. Guru Rinpoche meditated in a cave in Lhakhang, subdued eight classes of demons and restored the king’s soul. He then departed for Tibet, but left imprints of his body in the cave, which became known as Kurje (body imprints).

The Kurje Lhakhang monastery is a spiritual in Bhutan.

Guru Rinpoche subsequently returned, set up his headquarters in Bumthang and Kurje Lhakhang (Temple of Imprints) became a major spiritual and historical site. There are three temples here, home to giant Buddhas and stunning ancient murals representing Taras (deities associated with wealth and fortune) and a 12-meter (40 foot) high statue of Guru Rinpoche that obstructs the Cave of the Imprints.

Places where time stands still

Farmhouse in the most remote of Bumthang’s valleys.

We take a side trip to Tang Valley, the most remote of Bumthang’s valleys, for a close look at rural life. This is a pristine agricultural area where the industrial age has yet to take hold. Farmhouses precariously cling to the mountain, and farmers work their land just as they have for many centuries. What starts out as a dubiously paved road soon stops all pretenses, and our van rocks gamely along the dirt trail until we come to a bridge. It’s on foot from here on, one hour uphill on a narrow path through fields and along a cluster of farmhouses.

A woman leads an oxdrawn wooden plow in her Tang Valley field.

A woman guides a team of oxen pulling a wooden tiller across a terraced field. Others spread buckwheat out to dry or spin wool with a drop spindle. We eventually reach Ugyen Choling, a country estate built in the seventeenth century for a local noble family. Their descendants still own it and have transformed most of it into a museum. They have recreated traditional living quarters, including all the everyday objects necessary to sustain the household: kitchen and weaving utensils, tools, farming implements, weapons, as well as religious masks and a rich collection of printing blocks.

Once a self-sustaining remote country estate, Ugyen Choling has fine collection of rare printing blocks.

It’s on foot from here to Tharpaling Gompa, a fourteenth century monastery (altitude 3500 meters or 11,500 feet) still home to 100 monks. The view of Bumthang valley from here is, quite literally, breathtaking. We then stop at the Burning Lake, which turns out to be a gloomy pool at the bottom of a narrow gorge of the Tang Chhu River. But great deeds are said to have happened here in the fifteenth century, involving a reincarnated disciple of Guru Rinpoche diving to retrieve a sacred scroll from the bottom of the pool and returning with his still burning butter lamp. Judging the thousands of Tsha-tshas (small prayer stones honoring ancestors) tucked under the ledge leading to the water, and the bridge disappearing under thick layers of prayer flags, the site is very holly indeed.

Our next destination is Tashi Yangtse, about as east as we can travel without ending up in India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh. Apparently very few Western tourists make it this far.

Good to know

Religious Buddhist festivals (or Tshechu) are held yearly in each district of the country. Dates vary according to the Buddhist calendar.

Tourism in Bhutan is subject to strict regulations that are managed by the National Tourism Council of Bhutan. All travel within the country must be planned and booked through a tour operator registered with the council. Travel guidelines as well as a complete list of registered tour operators and the yearly festival schedule are available on the council’s website: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan.

We selected Blue Poppy Tours and Treks http://www.bluepoppybhutan.com for their responsiveness in tailoring a tour to our personal interests and requirements.

A Few Souvenirs

Location, location, location!

Bumthang, Bhutan

Wedged high in the eastern end of the Himalayas, between India to the south, east and west, and Tibet to the north, Bhutan is one the most isolated countries in the word, and the last remaining Buddhist kingdom. Tourism was not permitted until 1974. Television and Internet access did not appear until 1999. Druk Yul (or Land of the Thunder Dragon) as is known in Dzonghka, the office language of Bhutan, is only 180 kilometers and (110 miles) from north to south and 325 kilometers (200 miles) from east to west. Think Switzerland with deeper valleys, higher mountains, and only one main road meandering west to east (paving seems to become optional the further east you travel); no railroad, no air travel beyond Paro, the international airport in the west of the country, and no navigable waterways. Although rivers abound, fed by thundering waterfalls from glacier-clad Himalayan peaks, they are better suited for extreme whitewater rafting than commercial navigation.

Himalayan roller-coaster

The pass is the only gateway between Thimphy and Central Bhutan.

Today we leave the capital, Thimphu, to start our journey eastward into Bhutan’s heartland. It is only 30 kilometers to Dochu La Pass, but the vertical climb from 2,300 meters (7,650 feet) to 3,150 meters (10,350 feet) makes for a slow drive. The only gateway between the capital and the center of the country it is the most visited of the passes, and arguably the most picturesque. When we reach the top, the spectacular view of the Himalayas, “on a clear day” our guide Kesang is prompt point out, doesn’t materialize. We are in the clouds. But this only adds to mystical atmosphere of the place. The hill is covered with chortens, 108 of them rising from the midst. Chortens are religious structures built to honor the memory of eminent lamas or kings or to keep evil spirits at bay, a comforting thought on these roads. Everywhere around us, giant webs of multicolor prayer flags flap in the wind. The clouds drift apart just long enough to reveal a sunny valley far below us.

The Valley of Bliss

The Punaka Dzong sits at confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers.

From the Dochu La Pass the road pitches down toward the Punakha-Wangdue Valley and our main destination for the day, the Pungrang Dechen Photrang Dzong (or Palace of Great Bliss), Punakha Dzong for short. Built in the early seventeenth century, it is one of the oldest and largest dzongs (fortresses housing religious temples, military and administrative offices and monks’ accommodations) in the country. The Punakha Dzong served as the seat of the government of Bhutan until 1975 when the capital was moved to Thimphu.

The Punakha Dzong is one of the oldest in Bhutan.

Located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers, the Punaka Dzong is a sprawling complex of multi-storied buildings opening onto three vast courtyards and a central tower (or utse). The intricacy of the polychrome woodwork that surrounds all the doors, windows and balconies is magnificent. At the time of our visit the dzong is a beehive of activity as the following week it is to be the site of the Royal Wedding when King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck marries his commoner fiancée Jetsun Pema. The complex is being spruced up inside and out and festive buntings hung from every roof and balcony.

Demons and blessings

Cham dances are a form of meditation in Bhtanese Buddhist festivals.

We get an early start the next morning. We are off to the Wangdi Dzong for the Festival. While the underlying purpose is spiritual, the festival is an extravaganza of dances by masked religious dances and dramas pantomimes depicting the triumph of good over evil and stories of the life of Bhutan’s patron saint, Guru Rinpoche. But it is also a great opportunities for socializing and celebrating, attended by throngs of area people of all ages, dressed in their finest clothes.

The unfurling of the thongdrel is the closing ceremony of the festival.

We are back at the Wangdi Dzong the next morning for the Thongdrel ceremony. A thongdrel is a giant religious cloth painting that is unfurled from the roof of a dzong into the courtyard. This event only takes place for a few hours on the last morning of the festival to minimize the damage to the thongdrel from exposure to the sun.

After the receiving the blessings associated with the Thongdrel ceremony, we leave the Punakha Valley and its serene terraces of golden rice paddies and drive to east to Trongsa, the gateway to central Bhutan.

Good to know

Religious Buddhist festivals (or Tshechu) are held yearly in each district of the country. Dates vary according to the Buddhist calendar.

Tourism in Bhutan is subject to strict regulations that are managed by the National Tourism Council of Bhutan. All travel within the country must be planned and booked through a tour operator registered with the council. Travel guidelines as well as a complete list of registered tour operators and the yearly festival schedule are available on the council’s website: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan.

We selected Blue Poppy Tours and Treks http://www.bluepoppybhutan.com for their responsiveness in tailoring a tour to our personal interests and requirements.

Note – June 10, 2013. I was saddened to hear today that the Wangdi Dzong had been completely destroyed by fire on June 24, 2012. Fortunately no human casualties were reported. As the Dzong was under renovation at the time, most of the sacred relics had been relocated during the renovations and have been saved. Reconstruction is underway, and is expected to take close to a decade.Thus 2011 Wangdi Festival, which we were privileged to attend was the last to be staged in the historic Dzong.